QCL anglers combed the fishing grounds this week, taking advantage of beautifully calm waters and massive volumes of baitfish in the area. Depth sounders revealed dark clouds of large herring 90 feet deep and twice the size of football fields with schools of Coho and Chinook salmon mixed throughout.  The huge amount of feed in the area perhaps didn’t help the fishing but certainly revealed the incredible health of the ecosystem!  Salmon action was very solid for nice coho ranging 8-12 pounds, fishing off shore a bit, down 70-90 feet in 125 feet of water.  While less plentiful, the bulk of Chinooks were generally shallower and sized 15-20 pounds.  The big Tyees were hanging in closer to the kelp beds at Bird 2, Green Point and Parker Point.  We saw a number of nice fish released this week with Caleb Smith turning back a 34 pounder and Ian Bryce a hefty fish that taped out to 37 pounds.  Great work guys! 

The big salmon story this trip, however, belongs to Texan angler Shawn Gosdin, fishing solo with his guide Jo Brakefield.  These guys go back a ways, fishing together at a couple of other BC lodges before Jo joined the guide team at QCL this summer.  They’ve always done pretty well but Jo had a hunch that they would do something special this week.  That hunch came to fruition on Wednesday morning when they made their first pass around the point at Bird 2 and the inside rod dipped abruptly. Shawn took the rod and held on tight as a heavy fish pulled them out and away from the wall.  Jo stayed on top of the action and steered the boat away from other anglers in the quiet water behind the rock.  Shawn’s deft touch on the rod and some measured patience paid off with Jo carefully slipping the net beneath the huge silver salmon.  They opted not to boat the fish and Jo did the measurements hanging head down in the net before finally removing it from the soft mesh. The giant Chinook came around pretty quickly while the guys held on and revived it.  Taping out to 57 pounds, the photos definitely describe a massive trophy Chinook that is a new personal best for angler and guide alike!  Our congratulations go out to Shawn and Jo for sharing a personal landmark in their fishing careers!  Definitely one of those moments that neither will ever forget!

The southeasterly weather systems that have prevailed so much this summer gave way to some welcome westerlies this week.  Guests and especially the staff are enjoying the sunshine that comes with it!  A change in the winds comes along with a new push of bait into the fishing grounds so we’re seeing massive schools of herring and needlefish in many different locations.  Guides are happily scooping up giant 12-inch herring and prepping them for bait.  So the salmon are happy too!

 Over the past week QCL anglers have divided their time between the east and west sides of the fishing grounds; some of them fishing Cape Edenshaw for their first time.  Edenshaw did not disappoint and produced solid numbers of both salmon species as well as reliable catches of halibut.  This week we’ve focused largely on the waters off Cape Naden, Bird 2 and Shag Rock, which has been a real hotspot on the flood tide.  We’re seeing more Chinooks in the 20-plus pound class this week and the Tyee bell has been getting a good workout each evening!  Anglers are finding equal success with herring, anchovies and spoons, generally fished down 35-45 feet in 90 to 125 feet of water.  As we approach the full moon this weekend the increasing tide range will have more influence on the fishing so anglers should plan accordingly.

 Looking ahead to the weekend we’re expecting light variable winds over the grounds and maybe some more sunshine!  

It’s hard to believe that June has come and gone and we’re already more than a third of the way through our 24^th season!  To summarize, June 2014 has been above average for volume of fish, both salmon and halibut.

Like last year, the abundance of Chinook salmon in the 14 – 20 lb class has created tons of great fishing action. The numbers of larger salmon increased through the month to the point that on last weeks trip we saw 25 Tyees on the dock.  Five fish over 50 pounds up to July 1^st is very encouraging too!  Coho showed up in numbers in the 3^rd week and from that point on most guests have been able to take their share.

Halibut catches are always pretty reliable in these waters and this month the weather has cooperated on most trips to allow anglers to fish many of the favoured “hali-holes” in depths of 200 feet or more. The results are larger fish on average than we typically see closer to shore, including 55 fish over 50 lbs, 9 of those over 100.

Stay tuned for the latest catch news from this weekend!

Canada Day fishing at QCL proved to be just the latest highlight of the 2014 season with glassy calm water, a little liquid sunshine and 2 new members joining the 50 Pounder Club.  Al Slaughter and his son Steven proved it was worth getting out early Tuesday as they worked the kelp beds between Klashwun Point and Yatze.  The result was a handsome Tyee which tipped the scale just over 50 pounds, the 5^th at QCL this season.  Late in the day Kraig Coulter was doing a little after-hours fishing with fellow guides Matt Williams and Trevor Harris when they hooked up with a silver giant at Klashwun Point.  After a quick measurement Kraig carefully revived the big Chinook and released it with a score of 52 pounds.  Well done guys!

We’ve seen tons of bait in close throughout the fishing grounds this past week, drawing hungry salmon to favourite points like Cape Naden and Parker.  The tasty mix of needlefish and herring in these spots has provided excellent catches of both Chinook and Coho.  Plentiful feeder springs still dominate much of the activity, regularly punctuated by twenty-somethings and the occasional Tyee-class fish over 30 pounds.  In recent years late June has provided a very solid Coho fishery and guests at the lodge have been happy to add a few of these scrappy gamefish to their catch. While the typical Coho this time of year is around 8 pounds, we’ve seen several fish up to 12.

Our halibut fishery continues to provide extra excitement for lodge guests, with fish in the 30 – 60 pound class showing up at the Bell Ringer regularly. The guides are getting very good at in-the-water measurements using old rods as yardsticks.  Veteran QCL angler Dennis McCann released a big fish measuring 108 pounds on the weekend while Francis Moezinia sent back an 87 and Robert Rand released one scoring 142 pounds.  It’s quite a thrill to see these giants come up alongside the boat and it’s fantastic that they are so quick to swim back down once released!  The flipside is the plentiful supply of 15 – 25 pounders that are so perfect to take home for the dinner table!

We’re posting lots of great photos weekly to our Flickr page so be sure to visit often and see what’s going on up here!  Go to qclshooter to check it out!

Bird Rock 2 is living up to its legendary status as one of the finest fishing holes in Haida Gwaii if not the entire coast. The underwater structure, the kelp forest and the particular tidal flow around Virago Sound all come together here to make it a real sweet spot for Chinook salmon. So it’s no surprise that it’s a favourite of many QCL anglers year after year. And it rarely disappoints.

Early on Sunday, Father’s Day morning, Bill Harris decided to let his brother Linton have a little sleep-in while staying aboard the Driftwood. (conveniently anchored at Bird 2) Bill pulled away from the swim grid and immediately began trolling the 50 yards toward the outer point of Bird Rock 2. He made a couple of passes off the point and then proceeded around the kelp bed and along the wall. Halfway down the rock, the inside rod dipped and he jumped to set the hook. Almost immediately the outside rod started to bounce and he knew he had his hands full. Fortunately the second fish popped the clip and made a bee-line toward the Driftwood. Keeping the first fish under control, Bill grabbed the radio mike and called the ship for assistance. The Fishmaster swung by, picked up Bill’s nephew Trevor off the ship, and delivered him to the boat with all the bent rods on it. After several twists and turns they managed to get both fish to the net and into the boat. Bills reward… a beautiful pair of Tyee salmon weighing in at 41 and 32 pounds! Happy Father’s Day from Bird Rock 2! Less than an hour later Linton boated a nice 31 pounder in the same bay for a family hat trick.

The 12th Annual Kingfisher Derby at QCL generated lots of suspense over the weekend with determined anglers working all of their favourite spots from 7 am to 7 pm every day. With the top prize of $30000 going to the largest released salmon and $6000 to the largest killed salmon there is a fair bit of gutsy strategy involved. Perhaps the shrewdest move of the derby was played by Brad McAdoo on Sunday morning when he brought a nice heavy Chinook to the boat off Bird Rock 1. With his guide Andrew Simpson advising him on the estimated size of the fish, (as it rested in the water inside the net) Brad chose not to release it and instructed the derby officials that it would be a killed fish. Considering that the largest released fish to that point was sitting at a score of 32.5 pounds, many anxious competitors listening on the radio shook their heads in disbelief when Brad’s salmon score was announced at 35.9! With only a few hours of fishing time remaining there was a chance that his salmon might be the largest fish caught.

But with less than 90 minutes until the final horn, Bruce Severson and his guide Kraig Coulter called for a derby official at Klashwun Point. Kraig passed Bruce’s netted Chinook over to the Weighmaster for scoring. Minutes later, after the big silver beauty was revived and carefully released, the announcement confirmed that there was a new leader in the Catch & Release category; Bruce’s fish scored 38.1 pounds. They held on to win the big prize and Brad McAdoo’s decision proved to be exactly the right one at the time. Congratulations to all Kingfisher Derby participants and thanks again for helping to make this year’s event such a memorable success!

QCL guests have seen a full range of Haida Gwaii weather this past week with blue sky & calm water perfection giving way to gusty northwesterly seas breaking over the rocks at Cape Naden, then settling back to mild westerlies with those amazing ever-changing skies. Through it all we’ve had some awesome fishing with the Tyee bell ringing loudly every night.

Feeder Chinooks still dominate the salmon catch with lots of typical teen-sized beauties keeping anglers on their toes. Bigger fish are steadily increasing in number every day. Last week’s trip finished off with a flourish; lots of bell ringin’ going on! Keith Brown, fishing with guide Randy Zinck at Bird 2, landed the third fifty pounder of the season, releasing it after a careful measurement and revival. Well done guys! Lorne Kines boated a beautiful 39 pounder and Driftwood guest Morgan Schmidt weighed a stunning 44 lb Tyee on the swimgrid of the ship with his guide Nick Teichert. Those are fantastic fish guys! Bird 2, Parker Point and Cape Naden have all been particularly productive. The offshore drift at 50 / 70 feet in 120 ft of water from Yatze down to Parker has also been producing after the slack tide. Anchovies with and without flashers are working well. The star of the show right now is that “Tiger Prawn” spoon that just keeps tempting the tyees!

Halibut fishing continues to figure prominently with QCL guests, especially when they some hefty 40 pound plus fish hit the dock! Notable big catches were a 51 for Doug Astes, a 69 for Chad Werbowesky, a 53 for Mandy Clark, a 57 for Les Morris and an even 60 pounds for Ernie Tardiff! Jamie Tardiff pulled a bigger one up from 280 feet that taped out to 115 pounds. Now that’s a workout! Doug Nichiporik turned back a big slab at 108 pounds and Jordan Stang found a 70 pounder that fit just right!

The annual QCL Kingfisher Derby is in full swing this weekend with $50000 in prizes for big salmon catches, focusing mainly on Catch & Release fishing. Stay tuned for the exciting results!